How do I help my baby take longer naps?

Ashley - posted on 10/30/2009

For me, my son (5 months tomorrow) has the same problem if we are anywhere but home... I give him a bottle and lay down with him in my bed... i think the smell of mommy and daddy soothes him. Don't get me wrong, he sleeps through the night, but when he is in his swing, on the couch, crib, etc. he only sleeps 30 minutes.

Colleen - posted on 10/28/2009

Leslie are you still on here? My daughter has started doing this too. Just wondering if your son has changed his routine yet? I have found that my daughter will at least wake every time happy, so I have started leaving her in her crib until she really fusses. She too sleeps excellent through the night and we keep her nap routine as close to the same as the night routine, just no bath at nap time. So, ya, just wondering if things have now work out for you. Maybe you can find a way to send a personal message to me as this is sometimes hard to come back too. Thanks!!

Elisha - posted on 04/24/2009

My little boy is the same, although i dont find him to fussy through the day he is quite content and i also get him slepping from 7.30pm til bout 6.30 - 7am so i dont mind that hes up of a day as i have a little girl too.(They are 12months 20days apart). But i am a big believer in the dummy, i know some mums dont like it but it helps calm my little one down and i limit when he can have it so he doesnt get dependent on it. but it works for me :-)

Julia - posted on 04/24/2009

My son has started to do the same thing this week, and now he has a bad cold. Perhaps your baby isn't really fussy because he is not sleeping long enough naps. Maybe it could be something else? Perhaps just a phase he is going through? If yo've tried everything to get him to sleep longer, than it doesn't make sense that nothing would work if that's really what he needed. I find sometimes if my baby is cranky, I can divert his attention with some play time. It might seem like he's tired at first, but he's just bored and needs a change of pace. He might even fuss for a few minutes, but eventually gives in and plays, and then he is content.

Sophia - posted on 04/23/2009

I've run into the same problem since Evie was 6 wks old (she is 10 wks tomorrow). I know she'll sleep well if I let her cry it out (which I did not on purpose, but only b/c I was overwhelmed and didn't know what she wanted and didn't guess right....), but I really don't like that method.

I found that walking her in the stroller or in a baby carrier/wrap/mei tai seemed to work best for her.

Nancy - posted on 04/23/2009

My daughter was refusing to nap longer than 15-30min between feedings. It was making me nuts because the less she sleeps during the day the harder it is for me to put her down for the night....she'll have a total melt down.

The only way she goes down for a nap is for me to put her down. I lay down with her and have a 30min power nap (I need the nap!) and that 30 min is all she needs to get into a deep sleep and nap for 1.5-2hrs twice a day. The only other way she'll nap is to pop her in her carriage and go for a good long walk. This one is a win-win situation as I haven't lost all my baby weight yet. Good luck!

Ashley - posted on 04/23/2009

A 30 minute nap is only 1 sleep cycle and is usually a sign he's been awake for too long and his brain is agitated and that's why he woke up. I wasn't a fan of the CIO method but I learned that my daughter was only crying to go back to sleep. At 3 months most babies can only be awake for 90 minute intervals and then they are done. My daughter would only sleep for 45 minutes, but I let her cry back to sleep and she would go back to sleep within a half hour, sometimes longer depending on the day, teething, etc. If I went in to soothe her after 45 minutes it only stimulated her more and made her more cranky and took longer for her to go back to sleep.

Tasha - posted on 04/21/2009

Swaddling always works for me. I've always nursed my child first and then moved him to a recieving blanket ready for swaddling and wrap him up. Not too loose to where he is able to wiggle out easily (but not too tight also) although there are times I find my son later with a arm or both out (I call him houdini) but he is still sleeping up to three hours in the afternoon and sleeps through the night. It's worked on all my kids and I've wrapped them up til they were almost a year and just too big to wrap. I am native american so it is custom to use a papoose (cradle board) and it does help them sleep longer by feeling secured and I am able to rock him while he is strapped in (swaddled). He loves it. He knows it is nap time when I swaddle him and he goes right out...i do not use the cradle board each and every time. My husband has a hard time putting him in so swaddling is all he does.

Rayna - posted on 04/21/2009

Just a thought - babies cry in PART because they need something and the other part is that is their exercise. They can't get up and run off their energy...so they cry. It's good for their lungs and good for them to learn how to self-soothe. It isn't going to damage your relationship with your baby if you let them cry once in a while. They'll soon figure out that you're still there and they can trust you to take care of them.

Leslie - posted on 04/20/2009

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have tried all of those things though. I always change his diaper before every nap and after every nap. We don't do anything different with noise in the house because I don't want him to get use to a very quiet house for naps. That wouldn't help at all.

We do put him to sleep with a pacifier. It does help him go to sleep. But sleep at night is not the problem. It's the naps during the day. At night he sleeps for 7 hours and only wakes up once.

I think he's just going through a phase. I appreciate all the suggestions. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who's baby has done this. If there are any other suggestions, please let me know.

Rayna - posted on 04/20/2009

My daughter did that, too. Eventually she slept for longer periods. She still changes her schedule from time to time and she's 10 1/2 months old. Your son will work his way to hour and a half naps :)

Amber - posted on 04/20/2009

Do you have a swing? My son loves his swing & we play nature sounds while he's in it. He normally naps around an hour at a time about 3 times a day (he's 5.5 months now). No need to darken the room & keep noise down, though. We like to keep "normal" sounds going so he learns to cope with it. The vaccuum often lulls him to sleep, too! Good luck! I think this is just something you have to find that works with each baby. :-(



OH! Change his diaper & feed him right before the nap... often a full belly & clean bottom will help. If you are bottle feeding - warm it up a bit. :-) Kinda like a baby's version of a hot toddy. HA!



If you try the "cry it out" thing (I hate the thought of it!) I've read not to let them cry more than FIVE minutes. You need to establish trust right now - and that's done by going to the baby when he cries. But... try to wait 5 minutes sometimes. Often my son might cry initially in his swing, but after a minute or two - he's asleep. For some reason they just "fight" the sleep!



OH! (I keep thinking of things!) Perhaps send him to sleep with a binky? That can help, too.



Good luck!

Amina - posted on 04/20/2009

i suggest you bathes him during the night, especially the every night it will be very easier for him to sleep more longer, and feeds him before he go to sleep for a nap. And also, I suggest you go and buy a firm pad for him to sleep on, it's more comfortable. and you can try to put him on the belly and massage his back lightly.
I hope it helps.

Claire - posted on 04/19/2009

my little girl is 5 month. she doesnt sleep much threw day but started getting fussy cause shes still sleepy so i took her to her own room put her in her bed with her teddy and she fell asleep for two hours so i now do it everyday when she starts to get fussy . you should try massage to amelia loves it and it relaxes her ready for her sleep

Angela - posted on 04/19/2009

for my little girl its also about going to bed comfortable. I make sure she is warm in her cot and that she has her blanket to help her go to sleep with. When she falls asleep holding her blanket, then i know she is going to have a great sleep....normally between 2-2 and a half hours. Introducing her blanket has been a life saver for me because she too never used to sleep and when she finally did it was for 30-45 minutes!!!!

Kelly - posted on 04/19/2009

my so will take 2-4 naps a day, depends on how long they are, but usually only about 30-45mins, but he will sleep from 9pm to about 7:30am. I have just accectped that he likes to cat nap, and am happy that he sleeps at night....and he just turned 5 months on the 14th....so i am lucky that he sleeps at night......some people i know have kids that are about 2 or 3 and they still don't sleep through the night.....

Leslie - posted on 04/19/2009

Thanks for your comments. I actually do those things already. He sleeps great at night. Just during the day, he will only take 30 min naps. I don't really like the cry it out method either but honestly, I'm getting to a breaking point. I don't know what else to do. I think I just need to accept the fact that he's a cat-napper and be happy that he sleeps so good at night.

Melissa - posted on 04/19/2009

At four month most don't have a routine just at night time dont turn the lights on and try to keep it quieter then the day. Like just not playing at night time.To help show the differance. Feed them change them I even like to cuddle mine and hes sleeping great now at 5 months.Only wakes up for food andifhe needs a diaper. Every baby is differant Ihate the cry it out these babies are trying to communicate and learn to trust you. They do need something but it's your job to figure out what they need and you will learn differant cries as well , so good luck and Ihope this helps